# U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement *Federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security, named in two at-issue pairs in the Minnesota record.* U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States [[Department of Homeland Security]] (DHS).[^1] Wikipedia's article quotes the agency's stated mission as "[p]rotecting America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety".[^2] ICE came into existence on March 1, 2003. On that date the Homeland Security Act of 2002 dissolved the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Customs Service, and most of their functions passed to three new DHS entities, of which ICE was one.[^3] The documented outputs in the pack are counts. ICE reported that it held around 73,000 people in custody on January 15, 2026, the highest figure since 2003. As of February 2026, it reported using 225 detention facilities in the fiscal year that began October 1, 2025.[^8] Agreements deputizing state and local officers under Section 287(g) rose from 135 in January 2025 to 649 in June 2025.[^7] Wikipedia's article states that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 made ICE the largest and best-funded federal law enforcement agency in the United States.[^1] In the Minnesota record, ICE appears in two at-issue items about Sherburne County's jail. The first concerns the county's own description of its federal detention business. The second concerns the [[Sherburne IGSA]]: its dollar value and the agency's inspection reports could not be retrieved from [[ICE.gov]].[^9][^10] ## Who ICE has two main law enforcement arms. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) works against transnational crime. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) handles apprehension, detention and removal.[^2] Three support divisions serve them: Management and Program Administration, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), and the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).[^1] Each division is headed by a director reporting to an executive associate director. According to Wikipedia, HSI agents during the first Trump administration sought a more formal separation from ERO because they found that ERO's deportation work hampered their investigations.[^4] By statute, the ICE director is appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and reports to the secretary of homeland security.[^4] As of the article revision retrieved on October 27, 2026, David Venturella was acting director. No director had been confirmed by the Senate since Sarah Saldaña left the post on January 20, 2017.[^1] Until July 2010, the head of the agency held the title "assistant secretary".[^4] ## What Wikipedia reports that ICE enforces more than 400 federal statutes. Its main areas are customs violations, immigration enforcement, terrorism prevention and trafficking.[^2] ERO runs custodial facilities for people held as unlawfully present who are deemed a reasonable threat to public safety.[^2] ICE officers and agents do not patrol the borders; that work belongs to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard.[^1] Wikipedia's article states that federal judges have ruled against the agency's detention policies in a large majority of cases. It also states that ICE has repeatedly disobeyed court orders. The pack carries no case rows for these statements.[^1] The same article reports that federal agents killed two civilians during [[Operation Metro Surge]] in January 2026. After that operation, critics described the agency as an increasingly militarized force.[^1] ## When - 1933: the Immigration and Naturalization Service, ICE's main predecessor, is established. Its functions move to the Department of Justice in 1940.[^3] - March 1, 2003: ICE begins operating within DHS under the Homeland Security Act of 2002.[^3] - July 2010: the agency head's title changes from "assistant secretary" to director.[^4] - August–September 2025: academy training for ERO officers is cut from 72 days to 47 days, and then to 42 days.[^5] - January 15, 2026: ICE reports about 73,000 people in custody.[^8] ## Where ICE has domestic offices across the United States and detachments at major U.S. diplomatic missions abroad.[^1] Its detention network in Minnesota includes beds at Sherburne County's jail. According to the at-issue record, the county describes that jail as "the 2nd largest county facility in the state".[^9] ## How Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the secretary of homeland security to sign a memorandum of agreement with a state or local law enforcement agency. Under such an agreement, designated local officers may carry out immigration enforcement functions after training and under the supervision of sworn ICE officers.[^7] Under the Task Force Model, those officers may identify, process and detain people during routine policing.[^7] Training has been shortened. Before 2025, ERO trainees completed a 13-week academy. Since 2025, only recruits without prior law enforcement experience have attended the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Glynco, Georgia; other recruits take an online test.[^5] Wikipedia reports that internal ICE documents from 2026 showed 240 hours, about 40 percent of instructional time, cut from basic training. The cuts included 56 hours of firearms instruction.[^5] ICE agents use a facial recognition app, Mobile Fortify. According to DHS documentation, it draws on CBP Traveler Verification Service data, including photographs taken at airports.[^6] ## How much - In September 2025, ICE signed a $10 million contract with Clearview AI. Wikipedia describes it as the agency's largest such contract; the next largest was $2.3 million in 2021 for facial recognition software.[^6] - A $2 million contract with the spyware maker Paragon Solutions was first signed under the Biden administration. It was then paused under a 2023 executive order restricting spyware, and the second Trump administration reactivated it in 2025.[^6] - Politico reported in December 2025 that ICE's purchases of surveillance equipment were expected to total at least $300 million.[^6] - The dollar value of the Sherburne IGSA could not be obtained, because ICE.gov refused automated retrieval.[^10] ## How many - ICE began the second Trump administration with more than 20,000 employees. DHS is recruiting 10,000 more agents. An additional 5,000 federal law enforcement personnel and 21,000 National Guard troops assist with arrests.[^4] - Section 287(g) agreements numbered 135 in January 2025 and 649 in June 2025.[^7] - ICE reported about 73,000 people in custody on January 15, 2026. As of February 2026, it reported 225 detention facilities used in the fiscal year that began October 1, 2025.[^8] - A report by the DHS [[Office of Inspector General]], published by The Intercept, counted 1,224 complaints of sexual abuse in immigration custody filed between January 2010 and June 2017.[^8] - The at-issue record reports that Sherburne County's jail holds more than 500 federal detainees on average per day, against a local inmate population of one to two hundred.[^9] ## In the at-issue record - **Sherburne County jail (AI-Sherburne-086).** The record quotes the county describing its jail as "the 2nd largest county facility in the state". It states that the jail holds more than 500 federal detainees on average per day under contracts with ICE, the [[U.S. Marshals Service]] and the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]]. The record also states that the local inmate population is one to two hundred.[^9] - **Sherburne IGSA and inspection reports (AI-Sherburne-087).** The record states that ICE.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated retrieval. As a result, the dollar value and modification history of the county's Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with ICE could not be obtained, nor could the 2023 and 2026 detention-oversight inspection reports. The row describes the contract as the county's second-largest revenue line. The pack carries no county budget document confirming that ranking, and the row flags a FOIA request as the appropriate instrument.[^10] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement*, lead section (revision 1382245887, retrieved 2026-10-27) — DHS placement, components, border role, acting director and Senate-confirmation gap, One Big Beautiful Bill Act funding statement, court-rulings statement, Operation Metro Surge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement*, section *Description* (revision 1382245887, retrieved 2026-10-27) — quoted mission statement, more than 400 statutes, HSI/ERO functions, ERO custodial facilities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement*, section *History* (revision 1382245887, retrieved 2026-10-27) — INS 1933 and 1940; dissolution of INS and Customs and creation of ICE on March 1, 2003. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement*, section *Organization* (revision 1382245887, retrieved 2026-10-27) — director appointment and reporting line, title change in July 2010, HSI–ERO tensions, staffing and recruitment figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement*, section *Training* (revision 1382245887, retrieved 2026-10-27) — FLETC training, 2025 academy reductions, 2026 cut of 240 hours. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement*, section *Weapons and equipment* (revision 1382245887, retrieved 2026-10-27) — Mobile Fortify, Clearview AI and Paragon contracts, Politico surveillance-spending report. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement*, section *Immigration law* (revision 1382245887, retrieved 2026-10-27) — Section 287(g) agreements, Task Force Model, rise from 135 to 649 agreements. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement*, section *ERO detention centers* (revision 1382245887, retrieved 2026-10-27) — 225 facilities, about 73,000 in custody on January 15, 2026, DHS OIG count of 1,224 sexual abuse complaints. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement [^9]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *Sherburne_Jail_Brief*, row AI-Sherburne-086, anchored to Executive Office of the President, *Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System* (presidential action, May 2026) — the row carries the county's self-description and detainee figures; the anchor document does not itself contain them. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/05/restoring-integrity-to-americas-financial-system/ [^10]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *Sherburne_Jail_Brief*, row AI-Sherburne-087, anchored to Executive Office of the President, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (presidential action, March 2025) — the row carries the HTTP 403 result and the unobtained IGSA and inspection reports; the anchor document does not itself contain them. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/